Quiz: what holiday tradition is bad for everyone's health, and also bad for the planet?
Hint: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."
Yes, that cheerful wood-burning fireplace that confronts us everywhere in image and song at this time of year, is actually a little toxic incinerator.
Wood smoke is very similar to second-hand tobacco smoke, comprised of many of the same carcinogenic chemicals, plus an extra dose of lung-clogging fine particulate matter. Seniors and children are at most risk, but anyone with allergies, asthma, heart or lung problems may suffer a medical crisis from exposure to smoke from a nearby home.
The Canadian Lung Association recommends that wood NOT be burned in homes; check their website for their statement on Residential Wood Burning, under "Expert Opinions".
Peace, goodwill, clean air, and good health to all.
The above text appeared as a UR Opinion piece on the Sentinel Review's website on Dec. 15, 2015.
Further reading, links at right:
The fireplace delusion, by Sam Harris
UPHE 17 reasons to ban wood burning
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Air quality, wood smoke, and health
Congratulations to Oxford Public Health on the recent news as reported by Heather Rivers: "Smoking, asthma rates drop".
The article ends with a quote from Susan MacIsaac (Manager, Health Promotion): "Air quality has been a priority in this community".
Oxford Health has recently updated its website to include information on air quality in general, and open air burning in particular. The County joins the Governments of Canada and Ontario, The Canadian Lung Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation in publicizing the dangers of wood smoke to human health and to the environment.
The best advice offered is also the simplest: DO NOT BURN WOOD.
Unfortunately for residents of Woodstock and Ingersoll, existing bylaws permit the burning of wood in backyards.
Could we ask our elected officials to join with the County in making air quality a priority, and rid us of open air burning?
The above was published as a letter to the editor in the Sentinel Review on October 1, 2015, with the headline: DO NOT BURN WOOD.
The article ends with a quote from Susan MacIsaac (Manager, Health Promotion): "Air quality has been a priority in this community".
Oxford Health has recently updated its website to include information on air quality in general, and open air burning in particular. The County joins the Governments of Canada and Ontario, The Canadian Lung Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation in publicizing the dangers of wood smoke to human health and to the environment.
The best advice offered is also the simplest: DO NOT BURN WOOD.
Unfortunately for residents of Woodstock and Ingersoll, existing bylaws permit the burning of wood in backyards.
Could we ask our elected officials to join with the County in making air quality a priority, and rid us of open air burning?
The above was published as a letter to the editor in the Sentinel Review on October 1, 2015, with the headline: DO NOT BURN WOOD.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Why Woodstock is a great place to live
Woodstock is a great place to live, because:
1) We are considerate of our neighbours; we even have a noise bylaw (Chapter 0825)
2) We care about air quality; we have an anti-idling bylaw (Chapter 818)
3) We worry about damaging our children's lungs; we have a bylaw that prohibits smoking near playground equipment (Chapter 0835)
But wait a minute; we also have an Open Air Burning Bylaw (Chapter 0827), which shows that we:
1) don't care about bothering neighbours
2) don't care about air quality
3) don't care about damaging everybody's lungs, including our children's.
What was my opening statement, again?
This was submitted to the Sentinel Review as a letter to the editor and published on July 3, 2015, although the title was changed by the newspaper.
1) We are considerate of our neighbours; we even have a noise bylaw (Chapter 0825)
2) We care about air quality; we have an anti-idling bylaw (Chapter 818)
3) We worry about damaging our children's lungs; we have a bylaw that prohibits smoking near playground equipment (Chapter 0835)
But wait a minute; we also have an Open Air Burning Bylaw (Chapter 0827), which shows that we:
1) don't care about bothering neighbours
2) don't care about air quality
3) don't care about damaging everybody's lungs, including our children's.
What was my opening statement, again?
This was submitted to the Sentinel Review as a letter to the editor and published on July 3, 2015, although the title was changed by the newspaper.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Clean Air Day: shall we light the fire pit?
June 3 2015 is Clean Air Day, part of Canadian Environment Week.
The day seems to pass unremarked in Woodstock, probably because we are home to more than 1200 little legal toxic incinerators, otherwise known as fire pits, thanks to our Open Air Burning Bylaw. In Ontario most open air burning is prohibited by the Fire Code, unless the municipal government does an end run around that legislation and grants permission by passing its own bylaw, as Woodstock Council did in 2013.
So to mark the day, here is an excerpt from The Fireplace Delusion by Sam Harris (full text can be found on the internet):
"Here is what we know from a scientific point of view: There is no amount of wood smoke that is good to breathe. It is at least as bad for you as cigarette smoke, and probably much worse. (One study found it to be 30 times more potent a carcinogen.) The smoke from an ordinary wood fire contains hundreds of compounds known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and irritating to the respiratory system. Most of the particles generated by burning wood are smaller than one micron--a size believed to be most damaging to our lungs. In fact, these particles are so fine that they can evade our mucociliary defenses and travel directly into the bloodstream, posing a risk to the heart. Particles this size also resist gravitational settling, remaining airborne for weeks at a time."
To all those who are ready to comment that they "LOVE THE SMELL OF WOODSMOKE!", please remember that "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts". Try to locate and quote some credible sources to support your position, if you would like to convince us that it's okay for you and everyone around you to breathe the smoke generated by your fire pit.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 2, 2015.
The day seems to pass unremarked in Woodstock, probably because we are home to more than 1200 little legal toxic incinerators, otherwise known as fire pits, thanks to our Open Air Burning Bylaw. In Ontario most open air burning is prohibited by the Fire Code, unless the municipal government does an end run around that legislation and grants permission by passing its own bylaw, as Woodstock Council did in 2013.
So to mark the day, here is an excerpt from The Fireplace Delusion by Sam Harris (full text can be found on the internet):
"Here is what we know from a scientific point of view: There is no amount of wood smoke that is good to breathe. It is at least as bad for you as cigarette smoke, and probably much worse. (One study found it to be 30 times more potent a carcinogen.) The smoke from an ordinary wood fire contains hundreds of compounds known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and irritating to the respiratory system. Most of the particles generated by burning wood are smaller than one micron--a size believed to be most damaging to our lungs. In fact, these particles are so fine that they can evade our mucociliary defenses and travel directly into the bloodstream, posing a risk to the heart. Particles this size also resist gravitational settling, remaining airborne for weeks at a time."
To all those who are ready to comment that they "LOVE THE SMELL OF WOODSMOKE!", please remember that "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts". Try to locate and quote some credible sources to support your position, if you would like to convince us that it's okay for you and everyone around you to breathe the smoke generated by your fire pit.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 2, 2015.
Friday, April 24, 2015
April, cancer, and Woodstock's toxic air
During April ("Daffodil Month") the Canadian Cancer Society conducts its national fundraising campaign.
Ironically, April is also the month in which spring weather arrives, we can spend more time out of doors... and the air we breathe is often polluted with hazardous wood smoke from backyard fire pits.
The Canadian Cancer Society's website lists risk factors for lung cancer which include:
1) Second-hand smoke: "No amount of exposure to second-hand smoke is safe"
2) Outdoor air pollution.
Indoor burning of wood is listed as a possible risk factor.
Could we make connections?
Wood smoke is very similar in composition to tobacco smoke.
Wood smoke is a source of acute air pollution.
Wood smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The Government of Canada lists PAHs as one of the main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns, and explains: "These compounds are a health concern because they can cause cancer".
The Ontario Fire Code prohibits most open air burning, thereby protecting citizens from wood smoke pollution.
Municipalities have to do an end run around the Fire Code by implementing a policy or passing a bylaw (as Woodstock Council did in May of 2013), thus condemning us to breathe wood smoke-polluted air during all the fine months of the year.
Is it too much to hope that the new Council might be concerned about the health of its citizens, and rid us of the Open Air Burning Bylaw?
References at right, under Websites:
Canadian Cancer Society
Healthy Canadians
UPHE
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on April 24, 2015.
Ironically, April is also the month in which spring weather arrives, we can spend more time out of doors... and the air we breathe is often polluted with hazardous wood smoke from backyard fire pits.
The Canadian Cancer Society's website lists risk factors for lung cancer which include:
1) Second-hand smoke: "No amount of exposure to second-hand smoke is safe"
2) Outdoor air pollution.
Indoor burning of wood is listed as a possible risk factor.
Could we make connections?
Wood smoke is very similar in composition to tobacco smoke.
Wood smoke is a source of acute air pollution.
Wood smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The Government of Canada lists PAHs as one of the main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns, and explains: "These compounds are a health concern because they can cause cancer".
The Ontario Fire Code prohibits most open air burning, thereby protecting citizens from wood smoke pollution.
Municipalities have to do an end run around the Fire Code by implementing a policy or passing a bylaw (as Woodstock Council did in May of 2013), thus condemning us to breathe wood smoke-polluted air during all the fine months of the year.
Is it too much to hope that the new Council might be concerned about the health of its citizens, and rid us of the Open Air Burning Bylaw?
References at right, under Websites:
Canadian Cancer Society
Healthy Canadians
UPHE
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on April 24, 2015.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
The heart hazard on your hearth
As we near the end of Heart Month, I would like to draw attention to the position statement posted by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, entitled: Air Pollution, Heart Disease and Stroke. It informs us that: "During the winter months in Canada, wood-burning stoves and fireplaces can be sources of dangerous air pollution, contributing 28% of the fine particulate matter in the air."
Wood smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals as tobacco smoke, and is a health hazard to young and old. If you can smell the smoke, you are inhaling the toxins, and it is best to avoid exertion (like snow shoveling).
The Government of Canada on its Healthy Canadians website is blunt in its advice: AVOID WOOD SMOKE.
If you feel that a wood fire is a comfort in your home, consider this image by Sam Harris in The Fireplace Delusion: "the sight of a glowing hearth should be about as comforting as the sight of a diesel engine idling in your living room".
Be kind to your heart, and all those hearts around you. Learn more... and don't burn wood.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on February 26, 2015.
Wood smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals as tobacco smoke, and is a health hazard to young and old. If you can smell the smoke, you are inhaling the toxins, and it is best to avoid exertion (like snow shoveling).
The Government of Canada on its Healthy Canadians website is blunt in its advice: AVOID WOOD SMOKE.
If you feel that a wood fire is a comfort in your home, consider this image by Sam Harris in The Fireplace Delusion: "the sight of a glowing hearth should be about as comforting as the sight of a diesel engine idling in your living room".
Be kind to your heart, and all those hearts around you. Learn more... and don't burn wood.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on February 26, 2015.
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